The University

Sustainability

UniSR for a sustainable development

The integrated approach that characterizes the vision of UniSR fosters and encourages an idea of sustainability that is expressed day by day in the actions of its people and missions: education, teaching, and research.

For many years, UniSR has been an active player in the change driven by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the Agenda 2030 to ensure a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable world.  

As a university, UniSR recognizes its role as a privileged laboratory of knowledge that combines theory and practice at the service of innovation to create the future of new generations in full respect of Sustainability.

Agenda 2030 and Third Mission

Agenda 2030 represents a significant opportunity for UniSR to participate in an extraordinary collective project; a compass to guide its decisions and measure its activities, developing the action of a globally responsible and conscious University.

The Strategic Plan 2023-2026 also governs activities related to Agenda 2030 and the SDGs as an integral part of the university's Third Mission.

SDGs-related activities, indeed, are classified within the initiatives of production of public goods of a social, educational, and cultural nature. Therefore, they cannot but be an integral part of the UniSR Mission.

Several actions undertaken by UniSR to give substance to its commitment to Sustainability

To encourage the construction of a more sustainable Campus: efficiency upgrading and renovation of the Campus buildings in a moment of expansion; creation of multifunctional spaces to promote inclusion and sociality; development of state-of-the-art simulation laboratories also from an energy point of view.

To act in favour of Health and well-being, UniSR’s strategic commitment is articulated with a particular attention to Student Happiness with dedicated initiatives, including the Counselling service, listening participated with the Campus Care project, and active support to the university’s more than 20 sports groups.

The presence of the Gender Agent and the development of the Gender Equality Plan guide UniSR's action on the issue also through a structured program of seminars and participatory meetings to discuss and listen to the relevant issues.

Simplification and digitisation of administrative processes, aimed at improving the user experience, also contribute to the pursuit of Goal 9 related to business, innovation, and infrastructure.

UniSR Green in our daily actions

Aware that change is only brought about by the sum of individual actions, UniSR carries on the good practices undertaken over the years to reduce its environmental impact through some initiatives such as:

  • Ecological islands for waste collection on campuses
    encouraging separate waste collection and reducing plastic in the spaces of the University, where more than 120 ecological islands are now active for Milano Olgettina and Milano 2 Campuses.
  • Monitoring of printing
    monitoring and reducing consumption with the installation of print monitoring software, allowing for the systematic collection of environmental impact statistics. Reducing the number of local printers in favour of the deployment of multi-purpose printers for a greater consumption optimization with the goal of reducing the overall number of prints by 10% by 2026.
  • Reducing single-use plastic consumption;
    11 water dispensers at Campus available to the student population, teachers, and administrative staff. Distribution of free water bottles to encourage healthy and sustainable behaviours.
  • Energy efficiency;
    to reduce the environmental impact, UniSR plans to install a photovoltaic system at the Cassinella Residence to support its energy consumption with rooftop photovoltaic panels. The residence spaces will also be involved in a re-lamping project, already underway in the teaching venues, to improve the energy performance of the lighting system. Works in historic buildings are scheduled for 2026.

Sustainable mobility for UniSR

Analysis, planning and innovation are at the heart of UniSR's commitment to an increasingly sustainable mobility to those who experience the Campus, on a daily basis but also during events open to the public.

The analysis, conducted with the collaboration of the University's Mobility Manager, resulted in a first Home-to-Work Travel Plan that provides a snapshot of habits and enables the planning of structural, organizational and communication measures to encourage change toward more sustainable behaviours.

Water dispensers and bottle distribution

Values such as innovation and transparency are prioritized in the action of UniSR, which operates with respect to a solid data governance and sustainable activities for the environment and the academic community.

To learn more about UniSR's commitment to sustainability, you can download the extract of the Strategic Plan 2023-2026 here below:

Strategic Plan 2023-2026 - Focus on Sustainability